<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>i can be your flower by ah_choo (lieagain)</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23587258">i can be your flower</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lieagain/pseuds/ah_choo'>ah_choo (lieagain)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEVENTEEN (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, First Love, Fluff, Growing Up Together, M/M, did not use the language of flowers, the flowers here are just . flowers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:02:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,198</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23587258</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lieagain/pseuds/ah_choo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>flowers accompany mingyu and jihoon through the various stages of their life.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Mingyu/Lee Jihoon | Woozi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>First Love Late Spring</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>i can be your flower</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hi! i haven't finished any jigyu fic in about a year, so it feels really good to post something again. thanks to the mods for hosting this ficfest &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>
    <em>clover</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>"hyung, hyung!" a child screams, running through the playground. a concerned mother is running after him. he tries to maneuver between the other kids, their bikes and other toys, but eventually, he trips over his own untied shoelace. landing face flat in the ground, his mom worriedly gets him up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"mingyu, what did I tell you about running with your shoelaces untied!" she scolds him, at the same time dusting off his knees and hands. the boy looks at what he was holding in his hands and starts crying. tears are mixing with the dirt on his face and his mother searches her bag for some wet wipes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"it's okay, you're alright, you're not even bleeding!" she tries to comfort him, but the boy shakes his head and opens his palm to show her something that probably was a flower before, but now it's completely smashed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"i-it was a gift f-for jihoonie hyung," he manages to say in between sniffles. "I found the prettiest one and wanted-" he hiccups, "wanted to give it to him, but now it's ruined!" mingyu bursts in tears again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"it's okay, you'll find another one." his mom tries to throw it away, but he doesn't let her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I won't!" he stomps his feet and cradles the smushed flower delicately close to his chest. "this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>the one!"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"mingyu, are you okay?" another boy runs up to him. he's wearing full baseball uniform, with his favorite player's name on the back, leather glove on his hand. "did you fell?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"h-hyung!" he quickly wipes his eyes and nose with the back of his hand, but he only smudges the snot on his cheek. "I found the prettiest clover for you, but it got smushed! and I won't ever find another one that's that pretty again!" he shows the poor flower to the older boy. he takes it and smiles at mingyu without even looking at it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sure it was pretty. thank you!" he smiles, his eyes forming small crescents on his chubby face and puts the flower in his pocket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"jihoonie, we're going now!" the boy's mother calls. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"okay, bye mingyu! see you!" he waves at him and runs back to his mother, leaving the younger boy looking at his open hand in astonishment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>daisy</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>seven-year-old mingyu furrows his brows as he looks at the nearby group of girls. they're all from his class, in the same school uniform. giggling and whispering to each other they're playing with some daisies, plucking out their petals. curling up his fists, he walks over to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"hey! why are you ruining these flowers?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>the girls laugh at him, not scared of his firm expression. it makes him even angrier. "you can't ruin the flowers! my mom says so!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"it's not like that," one of the girls, yeeun, says. "we're just checking which boys like us."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>anger turns into confusion. another girl pats the grass beside her. "we're gonna show you!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>yeeun plucks another daisy and gives it to mingyu as he sits down beside her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"look. you have to pluck the petals and with each one you say </span>
  <em>
    <span>he loves me</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and then </span>
  <em>
    <span>he loves me not</span>
  </em>
  <span>. and the last petal decides if he does or not!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>another girl, hayoung, demonstrates.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"let's say, I wanna find out about…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"about wonwoo oppa!" saerok chimes in. hayoung sticks out her tongue at her but proceeds with her demonstration.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"yes, wonwoo oppa. so. he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not…" it takes some time to get to the last petal, but when she does, she plucks it with "he loves me not" and pouts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"aww, don't be sad," yeeun pats her on her shoulder. "so, mingyu, your turn! who do you choose?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"sohee unnie, she's so pretty!" saerok says. "or maybe yujin unnie!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu shakes his head. he looks briefly at the field where some older boys are practicing baseball.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"no, it's gonna be jihoonie hyung," he says firmly, turning back to the girls. they seem surprised. before they have time to ask, he starts, carefully plucking one small petal after another, his heart beating faster the closer he is to the end.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...he loves me," the boy finishes, as he plucks out the last one and shows the stem proudly to the girls. "he loves me! see! he really does!" with a big smile he looks at the stem. the girls seem to be confused, but still happy for him. glancing back at the field, he notices jihoon is looking in their direction. mingyu raises his hand to wave, and jihoon answers with a wave. he turns around to the girls with a proud smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I told you!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>rapeseed flower</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>"aaah I'm so sorry hyung," mingyu apologizes again. they're trying to find jihoon's baseball in the rapeseed field behind their houses.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"it's alright, just keep looking," the older boy says. mingyu was helping him with practicing catching, but he threw the ball too strong and too much upwards, so it landed on the field among the yellow flowers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu pauses to look at jihoon. he doesn't look too mad, but lately he doesn't look like… anything. they knew each other since basically birth, living in the same neighborhood, usually playing with other kids or later just by themselves. but lately jihoon has started to close off. becoming aloof. mingyu was actually happy he managed to get out with him that day. was it the puberty everyone's talking about?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu starts absentmindedly plucking out the flowers while looking for a ball. after a while he has a small bunch in his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I think we should give up," jihoon says after a while. "it's just a ball, I'm gonna ask my mom for a new one." he looks a little bit sad. the younger boy knows it was his favorite one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu stretches out his arm and presses the bunch to jihoon's chest. the older boy glances at it with confusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"flowers for you. to cheer you up."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>there's actually a faint smile on jihoon's face when he takes the bunch, and mingyu is satisfied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>he doesn't know the flowers are going to be put in a vase and kept on jihoon's desk until they wilt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>flower crown</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>there's not much time for friends when you're in the last year of middle school and your parents want you to get to a good high school, so you can pass your exams well and end up at one of the best universities in the country.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu doesn't want to think about university, because he doesn't know yet who he wants to be in the future - a firefighter maybe, but you don't need university for that - so he's very grateful for his free time this weekend. and, as jihoon also doesn't have any training, they spend their free time together, riding bikes around their neighborhood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>they end up a little behind it, in some place that used to be a park but it became wild after people abandoned it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"is high school okay?" mingyu asks, looking up at the tree they're sitting under, trying to find a way to climb up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>jihoon shrugs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"even more studying than before. more trainings. shitty people."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"so… bad." mingyu concludes. jihoon nods.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"yeah."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"at least you have your team."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>when the older boy doesn't reply, mingyu looks down on him. he's fiddling with some flowers growing among the wild grass. he sits up by him, abandoning his idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"hyung, is everything alright?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>jihoon doesn't look up at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"yeah, just…" the words don't come easy to him, but mingyu is patient. "I feel like I've had enough. of baseball. the high school team is shit. I mean, they play good, but they're shitty people."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu nods slowly. he hasn’t hear him curse that much before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"you know, you can just resign if you don't feel comfortable anymore."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>jihoon chuckles, but it's not a happy chuckle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"and what will I tell my parents? my whole family? my middle school coach?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu is silent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>after a few minutes he realizes that the flowers jihoon was fiddling with are being tied together in a very wonky string.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"what are you doing?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>jihoon doesn't look up at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"a flower crown."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"where did you learn?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>the boy shrugs. mingyu wants to try himself, but he can't replicate what jihoon's doing. the flowers end up thrown on the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu busies himself with his phone, and after a while he feels something soft on his hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>he looks up to see jihoon putting the flower crown on his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>the pauses in surprise, and before he can even do something, there are lips pressing softly on his own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu closes his eyes and reaches his hand to get a hold on jihoon, to hold his hand or waist or whatever it lands on, to hold him in place and make the kiss - his </span>
  <em>
    <span>first </span>
  </em>
  <span>kiss - last forever.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>cherry blossoms</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>"it's for the better," jihoon says. his eyes look at mingyu's face, observing his reaction, hands firmly gripping mingyu's. "I promise you, my feelings haven't changed."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"then why…?" mingyu manages to get out of his throat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"in case our feelings change. saving us both from the heartbreak," jihoon explains once again, but the words don't make sense to mingyu. "and you'll join me in seoul in a year, so…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>when jihoon lets go of his hands, he automatically reaches for them before taking them back to put in his lap with embarrassment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I need to go," jihoon says. "we're not breaking any contact, okay? I will text you later. see you!" the boy stands up and awkwardly waves before leaving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>the coffee in front of mingyu is already lukewarm and undrinkable, and when he gazes through the window, he can see jihoon walking to the bus stop, his hair being tossed over by the wind, cherry blossom petals landing on his shoulders and back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>you should be confessing love to your significant other by the cherry trees, not breaking up with them because you just started studying in another city and you think it's better than long-distance relationship. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>did jihoon get tired of mingyu? or maybe he met someone else in the big city already, and being with probably the only other gay boy in their small town doesn't satisfy him anymore?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu gulps down the cool coffee, just because he paid for it and doesn't want it to waste, but it's even more bitter now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>he leaves the cafe and the bitterness leaves his mouth, but not his heart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>stomping on the fallen pink petals, he tries to not think about how petty he is and how jihoon ruined cherry blossoms for him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>sunflower</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>the bell above the door rings, announcing new customer coming in. mingyu's heart starts beating faster, because it's his first customer on the day where his boss finally decided to leave him alone to take care of the shop, and he can't wait to show her it was a good decision.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"welcome!" he greets the person even before he stands up from where he's kneeling by one of the pots. "what can I do for…" he turns around and suddenly there aren't any words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>lee jihoon is standing there, looking even better than in the photos he posted on instagram.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"hi mingyu."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>he doesn't look surprised, like he knew he'd find him here. but yet again, mingyu probably posted the localization of his new job on instagram some time ago too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>despite the promises, they drifted apart. maybe it was because of mingyu, who was too angry at jihoon for wasting their three-year relationship, and was deliberately ignoring his messages, and even when he replied, these were short.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu haven’t applied for the university. he never went to seoul. was it because of his family’s financial problems, or were they only a mere excuse and he was it out of spite? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>they became mere acquaintances, like most people from school when they grow up, following each other on sns and sometimes liking each other’s posts. and the years passed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"hi?" he lets out, suddenly nervous. he thought his feelings for the older disappeared - they were </span>
  <em>
    <span>children</span>
  </em>
  <span> back then - but seeing him makes his heart squeeze in a familiar way. "how have you been?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"good, good," jihoon nods his head, hands in his pockets. he looks cool, leather jacket on his back, small hoop earring in his left ear. mingyu feels dirty and ugly in his apron and gardening gloves. he takes the latter off and tosses on the counter. he misses.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't know if you know the language of flowers or something…" jihoon starts, and mingyu feels a well-known tug at his heart. the thing that indicates it will break in a few minutes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I do not, but I can always help you," he says in his customer voice, professional smile at his face. "what are you looking for?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>jihoon clears his throat and pretends to look at the flowers on the wooden shelves when he starts speaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"what would you get for a person you once held dearly into your heart, but then you kinda fell off and started treating each other as mere acquaintances, and now you want to resume contact with them?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu freezes in his spot. jihoon doesn't look at him even once.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"the relationship with that person." he asks professionally, " was it romantic or platonic?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"we were best friends," jihoon answers, a small smile forming on his lips, "and then something more. I don't know if that person will still want me in a romantic way, but I'd like to at least get back to being friends with him . I miss him."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu's cheeks are bright red when jihoon looks at him nervously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"hyung," mingyu manages. jihoon breaks eye contact and takes one of the sunflowers from the vase.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"how about this one?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>and he’s sure he'll malfunction soon, because he remembered. jihoon remembered his favorite flowers, after all these years. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I… I think this one's perfect."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>jihoon puts the flower on the counter together with money.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu shakes his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"it happens, people fall apart."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"but maybe it wouldn’t happen if I didn't break up with you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>there are many what-ifs. what if mingyu went to seoul to study as planned, instead of staying in their hometown? what if he kept messaging jihoon? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"can we meet sometime this week? just to talk. like old friends," jihoon suggests, a shade of hopefulness in his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu nods.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm free tomorrow evening."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>they do talk like old friends. and even though mingyu missed jihoon, only now he realizes he </span>
  <em>
    <span>missed </span>
  </em>
  <span>him, missed his laugh, his passion when he's telling the stories, his face that became so mature and handsome instead of cute, and the look he gives him when he thinks mingyu can't see it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>maybe he's not ready to be in a relationship again. but he may be ready to take his best friend back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>red rose</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>it may seem stereotypical and cheesy, but there's something about red roses that mingyu likes. they look royal, they look like fiery passion. they’re beautiful, sometimes making him go all shy and lose his confidence - because even if you don’t know flower language, red rose’s meaning is pretty straightforward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>even if jihoon swears it's just a friends with benefits thing, and mingyu agrees, the red roses in a crystal vase by his bed, where he's bent in half, seem to make fun of him. he wishes jihoon whispering sweet praises implied something different. mingyu's not sure if it's good or bad, but when it comes to jihoon, he’ll accept anything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>but when jihoon whispers a "love you" in between sweet nothings, stilling for a second when the realization hits him, mingyu feels a thousand emotions all at once. the younger just brings his head down with his hand on jihoon’s neck to kiss him and grinds his hips up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>they'll have to talk about it in the morning. but for now it's enough that mingyu's heart feels warm and jihoon is there, by his side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>white rose</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>there’s a single white rose in a vase on mingyu’s table, in between the dishes and candles. at first, jihoon laughed at the cheesy setup, but quickly assured mingyu he likes it when the younger boy pouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“what’s the special occasion?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu shrugs, obviously trying to not look suspicious, but the lips pursed tightly to not smile give him away. jihoon pretends to not notice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>what mingyu prepared is a real feast that leaves them both so full they can’t even stand up; lots of grilled meat, kimchi stew, all the banchans and lots of rice. it could not seem very elegant or romantic, but it had everything jihoon likes the most.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>as time passes, mingyu gets more and more fidgety, and jihoon cannot pretend anymore that he doesn't see it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"is something wrong?" he asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"no," mingyu answers, but it's followed by nervous laughter. squinting his eyes, jihoon leans on his elbows and puts his chin on his entwined fingers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"are you sure, minggu?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I want to propose to you!" the younger man spits out, and it takes jihoon by surprise. he didn't know what he expected from his boyfriend, maybe some early birthday gift, or him asking to take their relationship on the next level and moving in together. not… not a proposal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>with the lack of jihoon's reply, he seems to look even more nervous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry but– I know we haven't been talking about this– I mean we don't have to get married right away? but I just wanted– I think you're really important to me hyung, so… I'm sorry, I wanted to be romantic and I ruined it," Mingyu stutters, trying to explain himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"mingyu," jihoon says when his shock passes. it's tender, just like his feelings towards his boyfriend. he reaches for mingyu's hand above the table and takes a firm, reassuring hold of it. mingyu looks up at him from where he was burning a hole with his eyes in his dish. "yes."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu blinks before he realizes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"but I didn't even ask the question!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>jihoon laughs at him being sulky about that. mingyu looks like he's trying to keep his attitude, but there is smile glistening in his eyes already.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>the older gets up from his chair and walks up to mingyu, making himself comfortable on his lap. it surprises mingyu, but he quickly gets a firm grip on jihoon's waist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"if you want to ask, just do it. if you want to wait and do it sometime else to make it more romantic, feel free. just know my answer will be yes."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>mingyu kisses jihoon, because he wants to hide the tears that want to escape his eyes, and because he loves that man so much he could not explain it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>that night, when they go to sleep, there are shiny rings on their fingers; simple silver bands with nothing engraved on the inside - because mingyu didn’t want to seem too sappy, even if he had a few ideas - waiting to be replaced someday by the gold ones.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/yiwoozi">twitter</a> for more jigyu and nonsense!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>